Green thumbs galore

The annual greenhouse sale returns Monday to Boyle County High School. An event which benefits the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter, advisor Toni Meyers says about 60 students have been working hard since January getting plants ready for the sale. 

All of the money raised goes to the BCHS’s FFA chapter — this is the chapter’s main fundraising event for the year. One of benefits of the sale is the funds are used to help provide scholarships for FFA camps; need-based scholarships help local chapter members attend. 

“That’s the best compliment that you could ever give us,” Myers said after hearing the area looks more like a professionally run greenhouse than a student fundraiser.

Myers says students are excited about new varieties of flowers they have grown, especially for the annual event. “It’s got to teach these kids things,” she said, referencing the different varieties and what the kids must learn to cultivate them. 

She said about 75-percent of their plants are grown from seeds, and rest are grown from unrooted and rooted cuttings.

There are hundreds of flower and vegetable plants to choose from, and 120 Boston ferns for sale. Myers said students are also proud of their new “confetti” pots, which contain nine complimentary plants and flowers grouped together. 

A part of the sale Myers says students really enjoy, she refers to “value added projects,” is a fun way for them to sell plants grown in the greenhouse. Students may find any interesting container they like, fill it with whatever plants and flowers they like — and if it sells, the student gets to keep that money. 

For instance, one student had turned a homemade wooden wishing well into an intricate planter. Other examples include a round trough, a ceramic old shoe with frogs, and other whimsical plant containers.

IF YOU GO  

The Boyle County High School Future Farmers of America’s annual greenhouse sale opens to the public on Monday, April 17 and will run through May 17. Sale hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays at the greenhouse located behind the high school, 1637 Perryville Road. Cash and checks only.